by Paula Nicole A. Zaldivar

BAY, LAGUNA – A bloodletting activity will be conducted at Brgy. Dila on February 25, 2012 in cooperation with Philippine Red Cross, the bloodletting will be held at Bay Central School, beside the barangay hall of Brgy. Dila.

Ms. Edna Curibot, the Barangay Nutrition Scholar (BNS), coordinated with the Philippine Red Cross. Curibot explained that the barangay organized the second bloodletting activity inspired by the success of October 2011’s first bloodletting.

This is the second time for the barangay. Though there are still some details to be straightened out,  assured that the blood donation will happen no matter what.

Fifteen blood donors from the barangay was recorded in October last year. Several residents were willing to donate blood, however,  health complications hindered them from being qualified as a blood donor.

For this month’s bloodletting activity, the barangay aims to exceed the previous number of qualified donors. Brgy. Councilor Menard Curibot said that the teachers and staff of Bay Central School have expressed their interest of donating. He hopes that most of them will be qualified donors. Councilor Curibot explained that they are conducting house visits to encourage the resident to take part in the bloodletting.

The purpose of the blood donation is to help their ka-barangay who are in need of blood. Councilor Curibot mentioned that there was a time when they had to borrow a Blood Donors Card from the residents of other barangay when they needed blood for one of the residents of Brgy. Dila.

A Blood Donors Card is given to those who have successfully donated blood to Red Cross.  Donors can present this card to any Red Cross Blood Service Facilities with the blood request from hospital whenever he/she or any members of his family and friends need blood. Blood Donors Card holders are in priority whenever they need blood.

“Yung mga taong kailangan ng dugo dito sa amin, ‘di na kailangang lumapit pa sa ibang barangay. Kami-kami na ang magtutulungan. Marami din kasi ang nangangailangan dito, tulad nyan, may isa kaming ka-barangay na dina-dialysis,” said Councilor Curibot. Still, he emphasized that it is the donors’ prerogative if he/she would like to give help and lend his/her card.

Councilor Curibot, a donor himself said that he will be willing to lend his card since he feels like it is his moral responsibility. He explained that it will just be one of the small things he can do to help other people. He also said that aside from helping others, it will also benefit his health.

Part of the promotion of the blood donation is letting people aware of the benefits of donating blood and educating the residents about the Blood Donors Card.

ni Brando Bernard C. Bucks

Dalawang residente mula sa Barangay Tagumpay sa Bay, Laguna ang tatanggap ng mga inahing kambing mula sa Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO) para alagaan at maging tulong sa kabuhayan. Ang pagpapatuloy ng goat dispersal program ay bahagi ng nagpapatuloy na rehabilitation project para sa mga nasalanta ng Bagyong Ondoy, isang proyekto ng  Department of Agriculture (DA) at ng Food and Agriculture Ogranization of the United Nations (FAO).

Sinusubaybayan ni Victoria Manzanilla ang mga kambing na ipinagkaloob sa kanila ng Department of Agriculture at Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations bilang bahagi ng Goat Dispersal Project sa Bay.

Ibibigay kila Faustino Echalar at Eufracio Velasco ngayong Pebrero 13-19, 2012 ang tig-isang inahing kambing. Napili sila Echalar at Velasco na pagkalooban ng hayop dahil dinaluhan nila ang seminar ukol sa pangangalaga ng kambing na ginanap noong Marso 2011 sa pangunguna ni Dr. Michael Cortez, Assistant Provincial Veterinarian. Ang seminar ay naglalayong maihanda ang mga mamamamyang tatanggap ng kambing mula sa proyekto ng DA at FAO. Tinalakay dito ang wastong pamamaraan ng pag-aalaga at pagpaparami ng kambing.

Nang simulan ang proyekto noong Abril 12, 2011, labintatlong mamamayan ng Bay ang pinagkalooban ng mga kambing. Sila ay sina Ernesto Camangon, Jenny Parato, Bernardo Montecillo, Marina Fernandez, Ponciano Manzanilla, Alvin Sulibet, Marilou Sulibet, Joel Villadorez, Nonilon Sulibet, Diomides Guevarra, Felixberto Sabarias, Roberto Amatorio, at Romeo Padrid. Tumanggap ang bawat isa sa kanila ng tig-dadalawang inahing kambing samantalang binigyan pa tig-iisang barakong kambing sila Nonilon Sulibet, Diomedes Guevarra, at Romeo Padrid. Dalawampu’t siyam ang kabuuang bilang ng pinamahaging kambing na pawang ginugulan ng FAO.

Sa ilalim ng Goat Dispersal Program, dadalo ang mga benepisyaryo sa seminar tungkol sa iba’t ibang lahi ng mga kambing, panuntunan sa inahin at barakong kambing, uri ng bahay ng mga kambing, pagpapakain, pagpapalahi at pangangalagang pangkalusugan.

Pagkatapos, tatanggap sila ng dalawang inahing kambing upang kanilang alagaan at paramihin. “Babayaran” nila ang dalawang kambing na iyon sa pamamagitan ng dalawang kambing na babae na magiging anak ng mga pinamahaging hayop sa kanila. Kapag ang isang babaeng anak na kambing ay maaari nang maging inahin, “isasalin” na iyon sa bagong tagapag-alaga na pinili sa programa. Sa gayon, magpapatuloy at lalawak ang proyekto at darami ang makikinabang upang magkaroon ng mapagkakakitaan.

Matapos ang pamamahagi ng FAO ng mga inahing hayop, trabaho naman ng MAO na subaybayan ang pagpapatuloy ng proyekto. Kaugnay nito, linggu-linggong binibisita ni Belen Madrid, isang agricultural technologist, ang bawat benepisyaryo upang makita at alamin ang kalagayan ng mga hayop.

Tinatanong niya ang mga tagapag-alaga ukol sa mga obserbasyon nila sa mga kambing nang nakalipas na mga araw. Inaalam niya kung mayroong hayop na nagkasakit, anong uri ang sakit, kung may namatay at ang dahilan ng pagkamatay, at kung maaari nang ipakasta ang hayop. Pagkatapos, iniuulat niya sa tanggapang panlalawigan buwan-buwan ang buod ng kalagayan ng programa.

“Talagang makakatulong sa tulad naming mahirap [ang programa],” patotoo ni  Ponciano Manzanilla, isa sa labintatlong tumanggap ng mga inahing kambing. Noong 2009, nalugi siya ng P40, 000 sa kanyang pagbubukid nang lumubog ang kanilang taniman bunga ng tubig na dulot ng Ondoy.

Matatandaan na ang bayan ng Bay na nasa baybayin ng Laguna de Bay, ay isa sa mga lubhang napinsala ng bagyo noong 2009. Partikular na naapektuhan ay ang mga mamamayan nito sa mga barangay ng San Antonio, Tagumpay, San Isidro, Dila at Sto. Domingo. Lumubog ang mga taniman ng palay at gulay at namatay sa baha o kaya ay natangay ng tubig ang mga inaalagan nilang mga hayop.

Samantala, pinagpapatuloy na ulit ngayon ni Manzanilla ang pagtatanim ngunit kasabay nito’y inaalagaan niya ang mga hayop na binigay sa kaniya. Sa kasalukuyan, nakapagpaanak na siya ng tatlong kambing, isa roon ay malapit nang kunin upang isalin kaninuman kila Echalar at Velasco.

Hiling naman ni Manzanilla na kung maaari rin sana ay mabakunahan ng pampalusog ang kaniyang mga alagang kambing. Ayon kay Madrid, pananagutan na ng mga mga tagapag-alaga ang ukol sa mga gayong bakuna, gamot at pagpapagamot sa mga hayop. Inihayag pa niya na libreng ipinagkakaloob ang konsultasyon mula sa municipal veterinarian. Wala ring bayad ang pagpupurga na isinasagawa naman tuwing tatlong buwan.

Lubos ding nawala ang kabuhayan ni Marilou Sulibet na pag-iitikan. Ang nasabing kabuhayan ang nagtaguyod sa pag-aaral ng kaniyang mga anak, subalit nalulungkot siya na hindi na niya iyon naipagpapatuloy dahil sa kakulangan ng kapital.

Ngunit nagpapasalamat naman siya ngayon na sa pamamagitan ng pag-aalaga ng kambing ay may pagkakataon siya upang muling magsimula ng kabuhayan. Ipinahayag pa niya na pagyayamanin niya ang mga hayop na binigay sa kanya.

Naniniwala din siya na magtatagumpay ang pag-aalaga niya ng kambing sapagkat higit umanong mas matipid at hindi matrabaho ang pag-aalaga. Hindi na siya namimili ng ipakakain sa mga hayop sa halip ay nagsisipag na lamang siya na manguha ng mga  kangkong, kumpay (ito ang tawag ng mga mamamayan sa Tagumpay sa isang uri ng damo na madalas na tumutubo sa matubig na lugar) at mga madahong sanga ng mga kahoy gaya ng ipil-ipil at kamachile. May malawak din siyang bakuran na napagpapastulan ng kambing kung saan pinapawalan niya roon tuwing umaga ang mga hayop at kukunin na lamang sa hapon. Kung umuulan naman, inilalagay niya sa kulungan ang mga kambing.

Sa kasalukuyan, dalawampu’t dalawang kambing ang nalalabi mula sa mga pinamahagi ng FAO. Namatay ang pitong iba pa bunga ng pagkakasakit, peste, at panganganak.

by Ma. Kathleen C. Cabal

CALAUAN, LAGUNA – Preparations are on-going for the five-day camp out of PESANTE Pilipinas happening on February 20 to 24 in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform’s central office at Quezon City. Around 100 farmers from eight provinces are expected to take part in this camp out that aims to address nine of the 84 pending land cases.

Brgy. Imok Councilor and PESANTE Pilipinas President Evangeline Mendoza stressed the need to address these concerns because it has already been long overdue.

The 84 pending land cases have not been resolved since the Presidential Decree No. 27 and the Agrarian Reform Code of 1971 was issued during the Marcos regime. These cases were the backlogs that were not addressed by the government.

She also emphasized that the reason why the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program with Reform (CARPER) is not working today is because the land owners already know so much about the law that they already found ways to evade it.

Included in the nine cases to be addressed during the camp out is the Coconut Coir case of Barangay Imok, Calauan, Laguna.

Ka Vangie Mendoza, president of Pesante Pilipinas and one of the councilors of Brgy. Imok, Calauan, explaining the how the coconut coir logs help lessen the landslides and soil erosion.

The coconut coir project of Imok-Arc Women’s and Farmers Multipurpose Cooperative and also spearheaded by PESANTE Pilipinas, is a strategic project that aims to preserve 50 to 100 hectares of coconut plantation through replanting and fertilization in Calauan, Laguna. A total of 3.1 million grant is also involved in this case.

The coconut coir project has been on-going in Brgy. Imok in Calauan, Laguna since 2010. This project was established by PESANTE Pilipinas through the Imok ARC Women and Farmers Multipurpose Cooperative. The project may look promising because it generates employment in the community, but according to Councilor Mendoza, the process just to put it up was not easy.

“Dalawang taon naming ni-rally ito. Para lang maipatupad ang ganitong klaseng proyekto, dalawang taon namin itong inilaban,” explained Mendoza. She also discussed how the coconut coir project helps the farmers of Barangay Imok despite the fact that the project lacked support from the government.

“Halimbawa sa fiber, kumikita sila ng Php200.00 per day. Kung tuloy-tuloy ang aming operasyon, meron silang napo-produce na Php6000.00 per month. Tapos yung kikitain namin, ibibili namin ulit. Paikot-ikot lang. Kasi ang puhunan naman namin para dito, walang galing sa gobyerno Ang kapital para sa proyektong ito, galing lang din sa mga miyembro. Ang puhunan namin dito ay capital share. Ibig sabihin, lahat ng miyembro, nag-invest nang tig-Php500.00 bawat isa para dito, pambili ng diesel tsaka ng iba pa. Kaya sa amin talaga ito,” she explained.

The purpose of this project is because of the organic vegetable farming that the members of the cooperative initiated in the said barangay. Since farming is the main livelihood of the residents of Brgy. Imok, the cooperative members wanted the rest of the farming families to adapt the organic vegetable farming as well.

Councilor Mendoza also made it clear that they have been resilient to those companies who have shown interest in their project because they do not want to be affiliated with any political officers. For her, it’s not enough to have a capital alone or the manpower alone; it has to be a two-way process.

“Ang hinahanap kasi namin, yung tulong-tulong kami sa pagpapatakbo. Siyempre tinitignan din namin yung motibo nila sa paglapit sa amin. Ang gusto namin, yung parte sila, pero parte rin kami sa implementation,” she explained.

She also discussed the severe case of corruption in the Philippines and the reason why it is hard to address this issue. “Pati pondo ng mga magbubukid, halimbawa sa Fertilizer scam, papipirmahin kami ng attendance sheet pero ang nakasulat ‘recipient of liquid fertilizer’, pero wala naman kaming natatanggap. Doon ko talaga napatunayan na ang korupsyon, nag-uumpisa sa mga barangay, kaya naman napakahirap ng laban natin sa anti-corruption,” she shared.

PESANTE Pilipinas is a nationwide alliance of farmers focusing on agricultural development and agrarian reform of the country.

The University Police Force is now issuing UPLB car stickers for private vehicles, motorcycles and public utility jeepneys. The issuance of stickers started last February 1, 2012.

For vehicles with plate numbers ending in 0 and 9, you may claim your stickers on March 5 until 9. For plate numbers ending in 8 and 7, stickers can be claimed on March 12-16. For plate numbers ending in 6,5 and 4, the stickers can be claimed on March 19-23. For plate numbers ending in 3,2 and 1, stickers can be claimed within March 26-30. The office is open from 8:15-11 in the morning or 1:15-4:00 in the afternoon.

Application forms for stickers are downloadable at http://upf.uplb.edu.ph.

by Paula Nicole A. Zaldivar

BAY, LAGUNA – Pregnant women of Brgys. San Agustin, San Nicholas, Puypuy, and Paciano are all encouraged to go to their respective Barangay Health Center (BHC) to avail the free pre-natal health services for them.

According to Amor Macandile, the midwife for Brgy. San Agustin and San Nicholas, the BHC offers free injection of tetanus toxoid vaccine. Tetanus toxoid is given to expecting mothers during their fifth month of pregnancy to protect the mother and child from complications caused by tetanus.

Aside from tetanus toxoid vaccine, the BHC also distributes ferrous sulfate in tablet form. The ferrous sulfate tablet is given to mothers during their fourth month of pregnancy and is taken until two months after giving birth for mothers to avoid iron deficiency anemia.

On the other hand, Gloria Larios, the midwife for Brgy. Paciano and Puypuy mentioned that they also give Vitamin A to the mothers who just gave birth. It is given to the mothers a month after their delivery to improve the vitamin A content of their breast milk. Vitamin A is essential for the functioning of immune system and proper growth of the baby.

Macandile reiterated the importance of getting these services because they want to avoid complications for the mother and the child as well. Since it is free, she said that there is no harm in going to their respective health centers to have their prenatal checkup and have the said health services.

Another health issue that the Barangay Health Centers try to address is when pregnant women give birth in their own homes or resorting to “hilot”. Larios said that they really try to convince mothers to have their delivery in hospitals or at least in a lying-in clinic. This will avoid the mothers from complications that can happen during delivery. Pregnant women with diabetes, hypertension and high blood are especially in high risk, Larios said.

Despite that, Larios commented that there were improvements in terms of mother’s participation Brgy. Puypuy. Most of the pregnant women are now going to the health center to have their weekly checkup. Thanks to the barangay health worker who monitors and convinces the mothers to go to the center, Larios added.

Larios, being a midwife since 1990, said that she have witnessed the benefits that these projects have given to their people. She is thankful that today, more medicine and immunizations can be offered by the health center.

The schedule of the prenatal checkup is every Monday while the immunization of babies is held every Wednesday at the Barangay Health Centers.

by  Ma. Kathleen C. Cabal

After the barangay was hit by a blight on October 2011, the farmers were of Barangay Dila in Bay, Laguna are still having several problems with their primary source of income, according to Menandro Curibot, one of the councilors and farmers of Barangay Dila.

A blight is a plant condition after being infected by an infectious pest causing the death of the plant tissues. “Dadalawang kaban lang ang nakuha ko ‘nun. Dapat mga 100 hanggang 120 sako ang aanihin namin. Humigit kumulang Php 50,000.00 yung nalugi sa akin”, Curibot shared.

Because of the blight, some of the farmers decided to temporarily lease their lands and opted to go for other sources of income. “Pinaupahan muna namin ng dalawang cycle yung lupa namin. Sa landscape at gardening na lang muna ako ngayon, pero marami na rin kasing ka-kumpetensya sa landscaping ngayon,” he added.

The barangay submitted a proposal for the soil testing analysis November last year. Out of the 200 hectares of rice field in the barangay, the Bureau of Soils, in cooperation with the Municipal Agricultural Office, approved 50 hectares for soil testing. Results showed that the main problem of the rice field is zinc deficiency, thus soil conditioning was granted to the land owners.

Councilor Menandro Curibot of Brgy. Dila, Bay, Laguna while talking about being thankful to the Home Owners Association of Bayview Subdivision for allowing them to use the empty lots for their Barangay Garden.

Also one of the major programs funded by their barangay to boost their farming and gardening livelihood is their ongoing Barangay Garden. This aims to extend help to the farmers, gardeners and other residents from their barangay who needs support after they failed to harvest their crops last cycle.

Barangay watchman Vergilio Policarpio of Brgy. Dila, Bay, Laguna is serving as one of the caretakers of their Barangay Garden.

Headed by their barangay captain, the councilors and barangay watchmen are working together to maximize the free use of some of the private empty lots at Bayview Subdivision, Bay, Laguna. These lots were transformed into a temporary barangay garden where they can plant root crops and vegetables to consume or to sell.

“Binebenta sa palengke yung iba hanggang sa bumalik yung capital. Sobra-sobra naman ito kaya yung mga matitira binibigay na sa mga nangangailangan”, he explained.

Some of the vegetables planted in the Barangay Garden are pechay, mustasa, and talbos ng kamote. Another program that seeks to help the farmers is the ongoing rebuilding of the Dila Multipurpose Cooperatives for Progress, Inc.

Councilor Curibot, also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the cooperative, explained the need for the license renewal of the cooperative, saying that most of the members of the cooperative are also farmers.

“Agricultural Cooperative kasi talaga kami. Ang taas nga lang ng standards ng CDA (Cooperative Development Authority) ngayon kaya medyo nahihirapan kami sa license renewal. Pero konti nalang naman ang kulang namin. Yung financial statement tinatapos na rin namin ngayon,” he reported.

Farm managers of Barangay Dila are now also shifting from pure rice planting to ornamentals, herbs and spices since the income decline in rice production.

“Nagiging diverse na rin kami ngayon. Yung mga gardeners naman dito, considered as farmers rin. Nag-umpisa na kami magtanim ng mga Bougainvillea. Tapos pinasok na rin namin ang ornamentals. Ngayon naman, pumapasok na kami sa herbs and spices.”

He also said that some of the farmers decided to stick with rice planting despite the inclome decline mainly because they do not want the rice production in their barangay to decline.

“Marami rin kasi ditong farm managers. Yung ibang mga farmers dito, mga emergency farm laborers lang. Kasi siyempre tututok ka dun [sa rice planting] pero maganda naman ang kita sa ornamental. Para lang mapanatili yung rice planting kaya nasa rice planting pa yung iba.”